The installation of dome shaped ceilings in foyers or other rooms of a residential or commercial structure has heretofore required considerable skill and labor. In the prior art, the method of installing a domed ceiling structure typically begins by cutting multiple pieces of plywood to form arcuately contoured cut-outs therewithin. Thereafter, one end of each of the plywood pieces is nailed to the peripheral edge of a circular cut-out formed within one or more plywood sheets. The ends of the plywood pieces are nailed to the peripheral edge in equidistantly spaced relation to each other, with the opposite ends thereof extending to a common point and the arcuately contoured cut-outs being substantially aligned with each other. The ends of the plywood pieces which extend to the common point are themselves affixed to each other.
Subsequent to the attachment of the plywood pieces to the peripheral edge of the cut-out, elongate wooden pieces (i.e., two-by-fours) are then extended laterally between respective pairs of the plywood pieces. The opposed ends of the two-by-fours are positioned upon the cut-outs formed in the plywood pieces so as to roughly approximate a dome shaped pattern, and are subsequently nailed to respective ones of the plywood pieces. As will be recognized, the two-by-fours positioned between each pair of plywood pieces are of gradually decreasing length, with the two-by-four disposed closest to the peripheral edge of the circular cut-out being the greatest in length and the two-by-four disposed furthest from the peripheral edge being the shortest in length. Subsequent to the placement of the two-by-fours between the plywood pieces, the plywood sheet(s) is lifted within and attached to a support structure such as ceiling joists. Thereafter, a sheet of drywall or other ceiling material is applied to the downwardly facing sides of the two-by-fours and nailed thereto, thus forming the dome shaped ceiling structure.
The above-described prior art method of installing a dome shaped ceiling structure is known to be time consuming and expensive, and to result in non-uniform and oftentimes uneven interior ceiling surfaces. Because such defects are usually readily visible, the builder is often called upon to undertake remedial work after the ceiling and interior walls have been finished and painted. The lack of uniformity of the ceiling surface is often attributable to the fact that the drywall or other ceiling material is affixed only to the two-by-fours, rather than to the arcuately contoured cut-outs formed within the plywood pieces. There is also known in the prior art pre-cast, dome shaped ceiling structures which are molded from plaster or fiberglass. Though these pre-cast domed ceiling structures present a uniform ceiling surface, they are deficient in that they are typically available only in certain predetermined sizes, and thus do not accommodate particular size/dimensional requirements or construction methodologies.
Thus, there exists a need in the art for a simple, inexpensive and uniformly shaped domed ceiling structure which is attachable to an elevated support structure, such as ceiling joists and creates a smoothly curved and uniform ceiling structure. In view of the deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention is intended to provide a desired inexpensive and simple domed ceiling structure which may be reproducibly manufactured in a range of sizes to accommodate various foyer and room sizes, and differing construction methodologies.